translated from Spanish: College of Midwives appreciates that it initiates the parliamentary discussion of a Respected Childbirth Law

The College of Midwives and Midwives appreciated that the National Congress has started the discussion of two projects aimed at protecting respect for pregnant women in labor, among other actions related to the sexual and reproductive health of women, since the legislative proposal considers the “personalized attention” of the patient , which will not only mean a paradigm shift in health care, but will also force the state to provide more resources.” If any of these laws were to be passed, it would clearly be inapplicable under the current conditions, since there are not enough resources to cover the shortage of midwives in the public system. The State must comply with the WHO’s instructions that indicate ‘a midwife for each labour’, a situation that has never been considered by the health authorities of the public system, “explained the president of the trade union order, Anita Román.In this regard, he said that, on the contrary, the health authorities “have converted all the hospitals of low complexity into community health centers by transporting pregnant women up to 80 kilometers away , away from his family and his home. A respected childbirth law must protect that right, good treatment and respect must be a right of all people and not just those who can afford to pay. Current programs and regulations should even be reviewed to incorporate psychosocial aspects into current ones, since existing ones are based only on a biomedical model.” However, there are aspects in the discussion of the law that alert the guild at the national level. “It has been said that a part of the midwifery does not agree with the project, that is not true. None of our associates would think of disagreeing with respected childbirth, and what is more, it was our guild that was the first to organize a congress of respected childbirth in 2011, an event that counted among its speakers with the presence of the father of humanized childbirth, Michel Odent, “clarified the director.” What we are concerned with today and we are happy is that there is talk of a law that protects respected childbirth, and that we are not only talking about obstetric violence because other violence that affects women in the health system is invisible. How many women today are dying of cancer because they didn’t get a PAP or a breast exam in time? Isn’t that violent too? Sexual health and reproductive health are the poor relation of the system and their rights postponed and unfulfilled, “said Román.Al regard, stressed that “for that reason we support, since its entry, the bill that eliminates all types of violence against women; a bill that has been in the pipeline for four years and is currently in the Senate. Probably the delay in enacting a comprehensive law that eliminates all types of violence against women, including that of health, is what has prompted congresswomans to enter into divided projects.” If that is the way that legislators can use to advance respect in health care, starting with obstetric gynecology, obviously this union is available for debate and support for the initiative,” said Anita Román, adding that “we congratulate that there is a bloc of deputies willing to move forward on the issue , and that the House Committee on Women and Gender has entered the bill for processing, but there are aspects of the bill that we believe may hinder its implementation, so we would like to be heard by Congress.”

Original source in Spanish